What is the Lenovo Smart Display?

The Lenovo Smart Display is a smart home option that combines the broad usefulness of a smart speaker with a large, built-in screen for visual results that enable faster, more efficient forms of interaction.

Recently launched in 2018, the Lenovo Smart Display is the first screen-equipped smart display that’s powered by the Google Assistant virtual assistant app. Upon its debut, the Lenovo Smart Display was the only Google-alternative to the Amazon Echo Show and its Alexa virtual assistant. While Lenovo was the first manufacturer to design a smart speaker with built-in display, Google Assistant-powered models are now being produced by other companies.

The Lenovo Smart Display changed the smart display marketplace by introducing design elements more like those of a decorative accessory that compliments home décor, rather than a computing device.

Benefits of the Lenovo Smart Display

The theory behind smart displays is simple: if hearing responses from a smart speaker, such as Google Home or Amazon Echo is useful, wouldn't seeing be even better? Combining the benefits of audio with the added value of a built-in screen, the Lenovo Smart Display is the ideal tech addition for your home or office.

Whether it's searching the web, checking local traffic, or selecting a song from a playlist, most users find it easier to have a visual display to augment these tasks, as opposed to waiting for it to be spoken in audio only. Likewise, when refining a list of search results or interacting with a map of alternate travel routes, it's much easier to say, "Check Highway 18 instead," or "Jump to the 4th item in the list." The Lenovo Smart Display brings the best of audio and visual together.

When it debuted, the Lenovo Smart Display was noted as having several advantages over existing smart speakers, and some key differentiators when compared to other smart displays.

Lenovo Smart Display vs. a Smart Speaker:

Music: View your playlist to make selections

Calling: Make video calls, not just audio ones

Search: Get visual results (how-to videos, etc.)

Calendar: See -- don't just hear -- your schedule

Lenovo Smart Display vs. other Smart Displays:*

Photos: Native integration with the popular Google Photos service

Video:Access to YouTube's massive video library

Calling: Native integration with Google Duo video calling

*Comparison is to smart displays that do not use Google Assistant. When it launched in 2018, the Lenovo Smart Display was the only such device to use Google Assistant.

What Makes the Lenovo Smart Display Different?

The Lenovo Smart Display not only introduced the powerful Google Assistant virtual agent to the smart display marketplace, it also gained attention for its distinctive dimensions and exterior appearance. The Lenovo Smart Display was intentionally designed to fit into modern family rooms, kitchens, and even offices in ways that earlier, more "boxy" smart displays did not.

Design features of the Lenovo Smart Display:

Displays:8" HD or 10" Full HD touch screens

Exteriors:Bamboo or Soft Gray skins suitable for most home or office decors

Sound:Full-range speaker with two tweeters and multi-room audio support

This move toward a more visually attractive design has been described as a big step towards integrating the new generation of voice-activated smart devices and automation tools into everyday home and office settings.